


Roommates

by awgaskarth0805



Category: All Time Low (Band)
Genre: Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-10
Updated: 2019-12-10
Packaged: 2021-02-26 06:14:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,571
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21738922
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awgaskarth0805/pseuds/awgaskarth0805
Summary: Jack gets the stomach flu in college, which affects his roommate who he doesn't know very well, Alex.
Kudos: 6





	Roommates

**Author's Note:**

> This is a college AU!

Alex walked into his dorm room after his Philosophy class and was surprised to see that the overhead light was off. His roommate, Jack, usually got back from class first, and would have the light on, and would be playing a game on his Xbox before starting his homework.   
As Alex walked all of the way into the room, he heard painful coughing coming from Jack’s side of the room. Once he was all the way in, he saw Jack in his bed, under a thick blanket, with used tissues littered all around him, and his computer was on his lap.   
“Hey Jack, what’s going on? Are you sick?” Alex asked, taking a seat at his desk.  
“Sadly, I am. The nurse said that I have the stomach flu. I feel awful,” Jack said with a sneeze.  
“I’m sorry to hear that, man,” Alex replied, not really knowing what to say. They didn’t know each other very well, and the only reason that they were roommates was because they were the only two from their high school who went to their college, and they did have some friends in common from high school. They didn’t spend much time together outside of living together, so they were still more like acquaintances than friends.  
“I’ll try not to be too much of a bother with my coughing and stuff. I know you have a lot to get done this week,” Jack replied, blowing his nose.  
“Don’t worry about it, you won’t bother me any,” Alex replied. Alex wasn’t worried about Jack making a lot of noise, he was more worried about getting sick from Jack.   
Their room was set up like a small hotel room, you walked in the door and there was a small hallway with a bathroom on the left. Once you walked into the full room, their beds were on opposite walls, they had a reclining couch between them, and on the other side of the room, they had their desks and closets, with a table with a TV in the middle.   
It was a very close space, and Alex knew that he had two presentations later in the week and getting sick would be the last thing he needed.  
“If you need the overhead light to do homework, you can turn it on,” Jack stated.  
“I can just use my desk lamp, I don’t want to bother you with it,” Alex said, turning it on before unpacking his backpack.  
“Are you staying in here for the rest of the day?” Jack asked.  
“No, I’m going to the dining hall in about an hour, actually,” Alex replied.  
“Oh okay, sounds good. I don’t want to keep you, so I’ll put my movie back on,” Jack said, putting his headphones in. Alex could’ve sworn that Jack’s tone grew sadder when he spoke last, but he couldn’t figure out why.   
Alex spent the next hour working on his psychology paper, and was able to get it done, despite Jack’s constant coughs and sneezes. Once he submitted his final copy, he noticed the time, and knew he’d have to leave within the next few minutes if he wanted to meet up with his friends on time.   
Right as Alex went to get up to fix himself up in the bathroom, he heard a gag come from Jack.  
“Jack are you-“ Alex was cut off by Jack getting out of his bed, and quickly making his way to the bathroom with a hand over his mouth. Alex grimaced as he heard his roommate starting to throw up. He texted his friends, saying that he’d be a bit late while he waited for the bathroom to become available again.   
After about ten minutes, Jack walked back out, and silently climbed into his bed. Alex got up and quickly did everything he needed to do to get ready. Once he was satisfied, he went back to his desk to get his jacket from the back of his chair.   
“I’m going to dinner, you’ll be fine by yourself, right?” Alex asked, starting to feel a bit concerned for Jack.  
“Yeah, I’ll be okay. Sorry if I made you late for your friends,” Jack replied, noticing what time it was.   
“Oh, that doesn’t matter, it’s no big deal. If you need anything, just send me a text,” Alex offered. Jack just gave Alex a thumbs up before Alex walked out of the dorm, and in the direction of the dining hall.  
Once he finally got there, he saw his friends all sitting at a table in the back. After getting a plate of food, he joined in on their conversations of how much homework they were all getting.   
When they were about to leave, Alex noticed that there was chicken noodle soup at the soup bar, and he thought that Jack might like some. He grabbed a to go bowl and started to scoop some soup into it.  
“You’re taking soup back?” one of his friends asked.  
“Yeah, my roommate is a bit under the weather, so I figured he might like this,” Alex explained, putting a lid on the bowl.  
“That’s a good idea, I bet he will,” his friend replied. His group walked back to the residential area together, and Alex said goodbye to his friends once they reached his building.   
After a short elevator ride, Alex pulled out his key and went inside his room. He saw Jack, still in his bed, looking at something on his phone.  
“Hey Jack, how’re you feeling?” Alex asked.  
“Still just as bad, but I feel colder now,” Jack replied, wrapping himself up tighter in his blanket.  
“Well, I have something that might help with that. They had chicken noodle soup in the dining hall, so I brought some back for you,” Alex replied.  
"Did you really? Thank you, Alex,” Jack replied with a small smile.  
“It’s nothing big. Hey, do you want it now?” Alex offered.  
“That’d be great,” Jack replied. Alex grabbed a plastic spoon from his drawer of dishes and brought it and the soup over to his roommate.  
“This is really good, thanks, man,” Jack said after a couple of bites.  
“No problem. Enjoy it, dude. I have to do some research for a big paper in my English class now,” Alex replied as he turned on his computer. Jack put his headphones on and resumed his movie as he continued to eat the soup.   
Alex spent the next few hours with his eyes glued to his books and computers, which resulted in him getting a lot done. Once he decided that he was finished for the night, he looked over to Jack to check on him, and saw that he was fast asleep.   
Alex quietly repacked his backpack and changed into his PJs before turning out his lamp and getting in bed. After half an hour of looking at stuff on his phone, Alex fell asleep.   
The next time that Alex woke up, it was pitch black, and he realized that he had to use the bathroom. As he was going to get up, he heard Jack getting sick again, and he decided that he didn’t have to go badly enough to wait for Jack to finish up.   
As he tried to fall back asleep, he continued to hear Jack getting sick, and Alex felt very badly for him. Alex hated being sick, and he couldn’t imagine how terrible it must be to be as sick as Jack was while so far from home and having to deal with it all alone.   
Alex decided that the next day, he would do something for his roommate to make everything all a bit better. Eventually, Alex drifted back off to sleep, and Jack miserably crawled back into his bed, falling back to sleep, as well.   
When Alex woke up the next morning, he realized that he’d overslept some, and only had about half an hour to get ready and get to his first class. He got out of bed, and picked out what he was going to wear, which is what he did first every morning. He was going to go take his shower when Jack quickly brushed past him, going into the bathroom and shutting the door.  
“Fuck, this timing couldn’t be worse,” Alex mumbled to himself. Alex sat at his desk and scrolled through some things on his phone to pass the time. He realized that he wouldn’t have enough time to take a shower now, which frustrated him some.   
He didn’t blame Jack, but he wished that he’d either woken up on time, or that he didn’t waste the time picking out his clothes. Eventually, Jack walked back out, looking pale and a bit embarrassed. Alex didn’t say anything, not wanting Jack to feel bad over something that he couldn’t control. After quickly brushing his teeth and hair, Alex grabbed his backpack, and walked to his class as fast as he could.   
As Alex sat in his classes, he couldn’t help but feel bad for Jack, and he remembered what he’d thought to himself the night before, about how he wanted to do something nice for him. He had quite a bit of homework to get done, but decided to blow it off, so he could spend some time with Jack, since he’d been alone a lot the past couple days. Alex really wanted to spark a friendship between the two of them, and he thought that this might be the perfect opportunity to do so.   
After his last class, Alex went to the convenience store on campus, and bought all of the sick person essentials that he could think of before catching the campus shuttle back to his dorm. When he got back to his dorm, he saw Jack on the reclining couch, watching something on the TV.  
“Hey Alex,” Jack rasped out.  
“Hey man, how’re you feeling?” Alex asked, setting the bags of things he bought on his bed.  
“Still awful, to be honest. Do you have some homework you need to do? I can watch stuff on my laptop to not bother you,” Jack offered.  
“Technically, I do, but I’m going to do it later, or maybe even tomorrow. For now, I got you some stuff that will hopefully help you feel better!” Alex replied with a smile.  
“Really? You didn’t have to get anything for me,” Jack replied, sitting up some out of interest.   
“It’s all small stuff, don’t worry about it. Do you want to see what I got?” Alex asked.  
“Sure!” Jack exclaimed.  
“Okay, I got you a thermometer, since neither of us have one. I know you’ll want to get back to class as soon as possible, but you can’t go with a fever, so now you’ll know. Next, I got you a blanket and sweatshirt, since you’ve been super cold. They have our school name and logo, since they came from the campus store, so hopefully you don’t mind that. I also picked up some medicine, Gatorade, and some food that you might be able to eat,” Alex explained, pulling everything out of the bags as he mentioned them.  
“This is all so nice, thank you, Alex. I really wasn’t expecting anything like this,” Jack replied.  
“Well, I could tell that you’re pretty miserable, so I wanted to do a little something for you. Do you want anything right now?” Alex offered.  
“Maybe the blanket and sweatshirt? I’d ask for some of the food, but I don’t know if it’ll stay down,” Jack replied, sounding embarrassed.   
“No worries, man. here’s the blanket and sweatshirt. Have you tried to eat anything today?” Alex asked as Jack got comfortable with the things that Alex brought him.  
“Yeah, I ate some crackers a few minutes ago. They made my stomach hurt, but I really don’t want to throw up again," Jack explained.  
"I see. Well, why don’t we watch some TV to get your mind off of it?” Alex suggested. He grabbed the remote, and started to channel surf some, until he saw that there was a South Park marathon on.  
“This is my favorite show!” Jack exclaimed.  
“Awesome! It’s mine, too! This episode in particular is one of my favorites,” Alex replied. A few minutes into watching the show, Jack’s stomach started to twist painfully, and he groaned, knowing what would be coming next.  
“Are you alright?” Alex asked, feeling a bit confused.  
“I, um, I think I’m going to puke,” Jack replied, gagging some.  
“Oh shit, well, let’s get you to the bathroom. Here, I’ll help you,” Alex offered. Jack followed Alex to the bathroom and kneeled to the floor as Alex removed the lid. Alex sat next to Jack and rubbed his back as he started to get sick.  
“You don’t have to stay if you don’t want to, I know this is probably pretty gross,” Jack said once he got a break.  
“It’s okay, don’t worry. Besides, I hate getting sick alone, and I don’t want you to have to do that if you don’t have to,” Alex replied.  
“I really hate it, too, so I really appreciate this. Thanks, Alex,” Jack said, making them both smile some. Seconds later, Jack started to get sick again, and Alex continued to rub his back.  
“I think I’m good for now,” Jack said once he was done.  
“Good, do you want to go back to the couch?” Alex asked.  
“Yeah, I just hope I won’t have to get up to get sick again. My entire body is sore and achy, so getting up really hurts,” Jack replied.  
“I have an idea. Here, let’s get you up,” Alex said. He helped Jack to his feet and flushed the toilet as Jack washed out his mouth. Alex grabbed the bathroom trashcan, feeling grateful that he’d emptied it the day before, then walked back to the couch with Jack.  
“If you have to throw up again, and you don’t want to get up or don’t think you can make it in time, just use this,” Alex explained, setting the trashcan by his roommate.  
“Good idea, thanks for that,” Jack replied. The two of them got settled on the couch and continued to watch their show. After a few minutes, Alex noticed that Jack was shaking.  
“Jack, are you shivering?” Alex asked, feeling more concerned.  
“Yeah, I’m still freezing,” Jack replied with a cough. Alex scooted over next to Jack and wrapped his arms around him.  
“Is this helping at all?” Alex aske.  
“It is, actually. Thanks, dude. I just hope that you won’t catch this from me now,” Jack replied.  
“You know what, I think I’ll be alright. Besides, you’re miserable, and helping you feel better is my top priority right now,” Alex stated, somehow forgetting all of the worry about getting sick that he’d felt yesterday.  
“This is all very kind, Alex. Especially considering that we don’t know each other very well,” Jack replied.  
“Well, I’d like to change that. You seem like a cool guy, Jack, and I’d love to become real friends, it’ll probably make this whole college thing a lot less daunting,” Alex admitted.  
“I’d like that, too. This stomach flu fucking blows, but at least I can say that it gained me a friend,” Jack joked, making them both laugh some.  
“You’re not wrong there, man,” Alex replied. The two of them went back to their show, glad to be in each other’s company.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, this is a request for someone on my Tumblr! I have officially ran out of requests to write! I still have about 5 prewritten to post, but I no longer have anything new that I have to work on for you guys. With that being said, please send me some more if you have them! You can leave them in the comments here, or you can send them to my Tumblr (atlfics). I hope you guys liked this story, I actually based the setup of their dorm room off of the way mine is set up! (I don't have a couch or TV, but everything else is the same!) I hope you all liked this, and please send requests in if you have any! Lots of love, Liv.


End file.
